Dragon Age: Insomnia
by leSSfudgit
Summary: Dragon Age 2! Arcane Mage goes after Morrigan, and hangs with his old buddies.
1. PRELUDE

Something about that night still seems so empty to me.

I remember the coals in the fireplace flickering as they burned out. I remember dim orange glow they left on the stone walls. But, most of all, I remember her. Lying next to her. Seeing her. Feeling her. _Breathing _her.

The last night in Redcliffe. She was lying next to me, in my arms, asleep. I was sitting up, holding her, wide awake. I remember thinking that, no matter what happened, this would be the last time I held her like this. Held her at all, really. I tried so hard to think about everything I should've been thinking about. You know, the obvious ones. If this ritual was really going to work. If I would even survive long enough to test it. What everyone else was thinking. How everyone else was coping with our last night.

I thought of Alistair, lying in bed, dwelling on the fact this night might be his last. Or his best friend's last.

I thought of Liliana, sleeping soundly, preparing unconsciously for the battle tomorrow. And worrying about me.

I thought of Wynne, gathering her final advice to give as my mentor, and my guardian, also worrying about me.

Sten, and Zevren, and Shale. Dreaming of victory. Confidently.

And, Lotan Baba, laying at the foot of our bed, blissfully unaware of

"_Wait..." _ I whispered to myself, "_Does Shale even sleep?" _I shook my head.

Then I turned, back to her. Morrigan. Breathing softly beside me. I slid out from underneath her, threw on my robes, and slipped out of the room, shutting the door silently behind me.

I tip-toed my way through Castle Redcliffe, to the main hall, where I peeked through the door. Eamon and Teagan were standing, giving orders to the guards that were both streaming in and out. I decided not to interrupted, and wandered my way out the back door.

I looked up at the sky, the stars, the moon. I sat down in the grass, and hugged my knees to my chest. The night looked so peaceful, and yet somewhere, miles away, a horde of darkspawn was destroying everything in their path; their path to Denerim. And, despite all of that, Morrigan would not leave my mind. I didn't want her to leave. I didn't want to live without her. Hell, I didn't even want to _die _without her. And then I did something that Grey Wardens aren't supposed to do. I cried. I hung my head, and I cried. I'd been wanting to do it since I woke up in Flemeth's hut, and I held it in as long as I could. My life wasn't under my control anymore. Everything that was about to happen, rested on chance. How likely it would be for Alistair or I to make it to the archdemon, and how likely either of us had the strength to kill it. How likely this unborn "child" would shield us. How likely I would be saying goodbye to at least a handful of my good friends in the next few hours. As the last of the tears slid down my nose, I whispered something to myself.

"I love you all. Especially you, Morrigan."


	2. CHAPTER 1

I stretched my limbs across the corners of my bed, yawning. I watched the sunbeams pour through my window, onto the carpet. Standing up, I stumbled my way to the window to open it. Birds scattered as I peeked my head out of Denerim's Palace. The sky was a bright morning blue, and the sun was just peeking over the market district. I stretched again, breathing in the fresh air.

"Well, I better go see what's going on." I mumbled to myself. "How you doing buddy?"

I knelt down to Lotan Baba and patted him on the head.

"Let's go see if King Alistair's got any food for you."

Lotan Baba shot up, and sprinted towards the kitchen. I smirked to myself, and started down toward the main hall.

Things in Ferelden had been rather quiet since "the Mother" had been killed. Oghren, and the rest of the troops remained at Warden's Keep, to keep a steady flow of recruits coming in. In fact, that was the last time I saw any of them, since before returning to Denerim. Leliana went to seek out Marjolaine a few weeks after killing the archdemon. When I came back to Denerim, Alistair had received a letter saying that she was on her trail, and was safe, but we hadn't heard anything since then. Wynne is back at the tower, helping the First Enchanter rebuild the newly independent circle. It feels good to know that the mage's can grow in a less pressured environment. Maybe the reason apostate's existed was because they _could _exist, rather than now, the mage's are free to live and be whoever they want. I never supported blood mage's, and I even enjoyed living in the tower most of the time. I just didn't feel free, and that's what I wanted to change. Hopefully, it'll be a change for the better. Sten, Zevran, and Shale all left immediately after the festivities, and I haven't heard from any of them since. And, of course, Alistair and Anora remained here, to tend to their royal duties. Eamon and Isolde have been here since then as well. Eamon is just trying to help Alistair make the transition into being a king, where as Isolde, has been very vocal about making Teagan the new arl of Redcliffe, so they could remain in Denerim. Something about the whole situation with Connor must still have her seeing Redcliffe Castle as a prison. I don't blame her, really.

I wandered into the dining area to find Anora and Isolde eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Elias." Anora said, surprised. Isolde smiled at me.

"Good morning, ladies. What's the news this morning?" I smiled back.

"Well let's see," Anora scratched her head, "Nothing that the guards can't fix. Just robbery at Wade's Emporium, someone stole his hammer. (Though we think it was just Herran. That's all I think...everything's been pretty calm since you've returned. You must have a calming sense about you."

"Well, I'm not gonna argue with that." I chuckled, "Alistair and Eamon in the main hall?" They both looked down and nodded.

"That doesn't sound good. You ladies have a good breakfast."

I strolled into the main hall to find Eamon and Alistair, discussing how to address the landsmeet, should there be another one during his rule.

"Morning buddy. Morning my lord."

"Elias, you are aware that your 'buddy' is the king of Ferelden, yes?" Eamon crossed his arms.

"Yeah...I'm aware, but he's my best friend first. Besides he hates it when I call him 'your majesty' or 'your highness.' 'Buddy' just fits our relationship so much better.

Alistair laughed and nodded his head, until he caught the look on Eamon's face, and made a joking frown towards me, and shook his head. I laughed harder. Eamon sighed and returned to his lecture. I stood behind, silently until they were over, and Alistair walked over to me, motioning towards the kitchen.

"I've been looking forward to this morning for a long time. We finally are getting some new fresh cheeses! Cheese!" He looked up dreamily. "How are you this morning, my friend?"

"I'm alright. Excited for this cheese business, but still have some things on my mind."

He turned to me, "Morrigan?"

I nodded. "I just, I can't get her out of my head. I miss her."

"How in Thedas you can miss a harpie like her is beyond me."

I glared at him, then dismissed it with a laugh, "Maybe if she was carrying your child you'd miss her a little more."

He smirked, "That is an excellent point, my friend. Though I'd be scared shit-less to see anything that comes out of that woman."


	3. CHAPTER 2

The breeze from atop of Fort Drakon was sweet and cool. I looked out upon Denerin, and all of it's inhabitants. This was my thinking spot, of sorts, ever since the archdemon had been defeated. I watched my feet dangle over the ledge, swaying easily.

"_Where did she go..." _I thought.

I looked down at my fingers, which were holding the ring Morrigan gave me, tightly in my grip. I thought back.

"_Tis a ring," _She said. Her face was clear as ever, and beautiful. "_Now, before you get any foolish notions, let me explain." _

I smiled. _"Alright, go ahead."_

_ "Flemeth once gave me the ring because it allowed her to find me no matter where I went, in case I was ever captured by hunters. I disabled it's powers as soon as we left the Wilds, recently, however, I thought to change it. Now, I will be able to find whoever wears it instead." _

_ "So...you'd be able to see me wherever I went?" _I chuckled a bit.

_ "Tis not given out of sentimentality. I believe you are too important to risk. If you were captured this ring would allow the rest of us to find you quickly." _

_ "Okay...okay...I get it. Is that all it does?"_

_ "Flemeth used to say that twas a link between us, one that I pressumed worked both ways. I never tested it, but I doubt she would've lied over such a thing, so it would mean I am linked to you, as you were linked to I."_

I grinned again_, "Wait...does that mean that I could find you wherever you went as well?"_

She stuttered, "_I...do not know. As I said, I never tested it...perhaps." _

I couldn't stop smiling, "_Thank you Morrigan, it's a really sweet gift. Really." _

_ "You...are welcome. Perhaps it will be useful some day."_

And then we kissed, in a way I cannot describe. Whenever we kissed, I always took comfort in my thought that this was as close as two people could possibly be. As close as two people could get to each other. I still think that, and I miss it more than anything.

"Now...how do I find you..." I said aloud to myself. I examined the ring closely. It was engraved with ancient symbols and designs, ones I knew nothing about.

"Maybe there's a password or something...find Morrigan...or show me Morrigan...?"

Nothing. I slipped the ring back onto my finger and tried twisting it a certain way. Again, nothing happened. Then I thought of something. Nice Flemeth and Morrigan were both mages, maybe it needed mana to operate. I closed my eyes and felt the flow of magic work from my diaphragm into my arm, slowly, working its way towards the ring. It hit my ring finger, and all at once, something, some_one _flashed before my eyes. It was Morrigan, working her way through a thick forest. I shook my head and came back to Denerim.

"I...I saw her. I saw her!" I jumped up. "But...where was she?" I looked back down at the ring. The symbols were faintly glowing lavender, depending on which way I turned.

"YES! I'VE GOT IT! I'VE GOT HER! I'VE GOT TO GO GET READY!" I wheeled around and sprinted towards the door, to find Alistair, looking at me, then shifting his gaze toward the ground.

I ran up to him, "Alistair! The ring works! I know how to find her! I can find her!"

He stared down. I stopped jumping.

"What...What's wrong?" I said.

"We got a letter from the Circle of Magi this morning, Elias_." _Alistair handed me the letter.

"Okay...? So...what?" I said, slipping my fingers into the envelope.

He looked up at me.

"Wynne died."


	4. UPDATE

Due to the recent explosion of views and subscriptions I figured an update was in order.  
First, let me say how extremely grateful I am to have one person care about my story, let alone however many are actually following this. I realize it's been a good 7 months or so since I've written anything. Due to the release of the DLC, "Witch Hunt," this story is a bit irrelevant, so I don't really feel the need to keep writing.

Now, that's not to say that my story is done. God knows that I'm completely obsessed with Dragon Age. To an unhealthy degree, unfortunately. The problem is, I haven't found the damn right medium to share my stories, and it's unbelievably frustrating. You have no idea. I love writing, I really do, and it's probably the form of expression I have the easiest time with, but it lacks the visual aspect that I really want to bring my Dragon Age experience alive! The problem is, I really don't know how to apply that. Trust me, I've tried.

I suck at drawing. **Terribly**. Though I still try.  
I downloaded the toolset in hopes of making a machinima, and it turned out I was in WAAAAAAYYYY over my head.  
I'm trying to push forward, nevertheless. I'll keep trying, that's for sure. I just haven't found that special "something" yet.

So thank you, readers. I hate to tell you that there won't be any more of this story, but I guess that is what I'm telling you.

I have a deviantart profile, and a tumblr, and an email, so if for some reason you want to keep in touch with me, or have any suggestions or comments for my crazy brain, I'd appreciate the support.

My email is in my profile I believe, and if it's not, you can comment on here and ask me for it, or I could link you to the rest of my pages there if you'd like. Or, if you just want to say hello, that'd be cool too. But anyway, thank you for caring enough to read this far. Communication is more than welcome.

Thank You again.


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